Lyrics, Lights, Love
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and forty: ABCs #12 A problem arises and jeopardizes a performance, but Mike persists.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, and fifty cycle. Now here's cycle 6!_

_Walking through a bookstore back in december, I saw the series of books by Sue Grafton that go "A is for...," "B is for...," etc, and I got the idea for this set. It will spread over the end of cycle 6, and carry through cycles 7 and 8, to be posted on alternating days. [And by the time we reach the end, Glee will be a week away!!] What I did is I found three words for each letter that would have some significance to Glee, and I built a plot around it. You with me? Okay, here we go...  
**12 of 26: L is for...**_

* * *

**"Lyrics, Lights, Love"  
Will, New Directions, Mike/Brittany**

They'd all been waiting on this day, just as they did whenever they had a show. It was something they did, being part of Glee Club, but for some of them there were always special things going on. In this case, it was Mike who had a particular stake in this evening… a couple of things indeed.

The first had to do with his little brother, Joey. It would be the first time he saw him perform with Glee Club. He hoped this would help him open up. It wasn't as though he wasn't happy. He had his friends, like Puck's sister Sarah… But Mike just felt like he was missing out on so much, stuck in his bubble. So if he saw him up there, felt the energy he did when he was performing with all of them there… maybe it would awaken something in him.

He'd worked it all out, going so far as to request from Mr. Schuester that he get some kind of solo, sometime during the show, even if it was just a couplet somewhere. He told him about his brother… Mr. Schuester told him he'd see what he could do.

Then a week later, Mr. Schuester came into the Glee room and announced that Mike was to have a duet, at the show, with the partner of his choice. He did not have to think twice. He looked to Brittany. She was laughing about something with Santana. Sensing someone's eyes on her, she looked up to find Mike was staring. She blinked.

"What?" she looked around.

They'd prepared together, all of them… it was going to be the two of them in front with the others in the back… They weren't used to it, but they were excited. And Mike, well… any chance to spend more time with Brittany… bonus.

The day had finally come, and except for a bit of rain, it was looking to be a good one. They came in, excited for that night. They rehearsed everything one more time, and when they were done, they got dressed for the first song. Mike and Brittany would be third. It was Quinn who pointed out, as she stood by the window, how the rain was increasing. Mr. Schuester had said it might affect their audience's mood, so they should give them everything they had. They were up to the challenge.

The first time the lights flickered was about twenty minutes before they were set to go on. And not five minutes later… crack, and then darkness. Voices erupted in the darkened room, everyone trying to find their way.

"Alright, guys, let's stay calm," Mr. Schuester's voice rose above the others'. There was a squeak, and Mike managed to find Brittany.

It took a couple of minutes before they got a hold of a flashlight. In that time, Principal Figgins had come to inform him the audience was growing restless, and they were thinking of leaving. When Mike heard this, he cut across the group, with Brittany still hanging on his arm in this reduced light.

"Wait… we can't cancel," he begged with Mr. Schuester.

"We have no lights, Mike," he told him, shaking his head apologetically.

"So?" he asked, thinking of his brother. "Please, can't we still go on?"

"Yeah, we can get lights," Brittany nodded, looking from Mike to Mr. Schuester and back again to Mike. He smiled at her before looking to Mr. Schuester, hopeful. The hope seemed to carry on to Mr. Schuester. He nodded and reached for his wallet, pulling out some money.

"I need two of you to run out on an errand, make it quick?" he held out the cash.

"I can go," Puck stepped up.

"Me too," came Matt. "What do you need?" Mr. Schuester nodded, handing them the money.

"Light."

He told them where to go and what to get. In the meantime, the rest of the group went to keep their audience at ease, promising they'd have a show. The guys returned twenty minutes after they'd left. They were soaking wet, so they handed off their bags to the others while they went to dry off. It was a good thing they didn't have much hair to dry.

The others proceeded to set up candles around the stage, lighting them. They also distributed flashlights at various points throughout the audience. Brittany personally handed one of them to Joey Chang.

The twelve of them gathered together backstage, once they were ready. A few of them had lights in hand as well. The audience had taken for anticipation once more; the lights appeared to have spread out some air of magic. And so the show began. Mike and Brittany were part of the first song, but not the second. So once they'd changed for the third, their song, they came to wait just off stage. Mike looked into the audience, to where his brother sat. Brittany peeked over his shoulder, standing on her toes.

"He looks happy," she commented. Mike smiled back at her.

"Yeah, he does," he agreed. After a moment, he turned around to face her. "Thanks."

"What for?" she asked. He nodded off to the stage, where some of the others were performing, among the candles, which they'd made sure to place where Artie could navigate without trouble. She looked as well, then back to him when he turned back to her.

"For that. Thanks for backing me up." She smiled.

"Sure," she nodded. "I don't like the dark… but this is okay."

"I know, you almost broke my arm before." That made her laugh, just as the others exited the stage. They'd go get changed, and then it would be their turn. When it was, they all moved into position. Their music had been forced to be stripped to basics, but it worked out better in some cases, like this one. As the other ten harmonized in the back, Mike and Brittany stood in front, and Mike began.

_[M, 10] "Never knew I could feel like this / Like I've never seen the sky before / Want to vanish inside your kiss / Every day I love you more and more / Listen to my heart, can you hear it sings / Telling me to give you everything / Seasons may change, winter to spring / But I love you until the end of time_

_Come what may / Come what may / I will love you until my dying day"_

He'd worried on the song choice at first. But Brittany loved it and wanted to do it, so they had. Now he didn't know if it was the joint factors of present company and their candle lit environment, but he was really glad they'd gone through with it.

_[B, 10] "Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place / Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace"_

_[M/B, 10] "Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste"_

_[B, 10] "It all revolves around you"_

_[M/B, 10] "And there's no mountain too high / No river too wide / Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side / Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide"_

_[M, 10] "But I love you" / [B, 10] "(I love you)"_

_[M, 10] "Until the end" / [B, 10] "(Until the end)" / [M/B, 10] "Of time"_

As they sang, he could see out of the corner of his eye the beam of light coming from the flashlight given to his brother. He could see his brother's face, smiling under the shining beam that made him smile too, which would then spread to Brittany.

_[M/B, 10] "Come what may / Come what may / I will love you until my dying day / Oh, come what may / Come what may / I will love you"_

_[B, 10] "I will love you / Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place"_

_[M/B, 10] "Come what may / Come what may / I will love you until my dying day"_

They ended, still staring at one another, as the audience applauded. They could hardly hear them, as loud as it was.

And then the lights came on.

THE END


End file.
